Xbox

The State Of Xbox In 2020

This time last year, Microsoft’s current flagship console was little more than a swanky video spot aired during a swanky awards show. Now, it’s the capstone to one of the biggest years for Xbox in recent memory. Time sure works in funny ways. Yes, it’s been almost one year to the day since Microsoft officially…

Hivebusters Is A Great Gears DLC And A Fantastic Xbox Series X Showcase

Hivebusters is a new single-player DLC campaign released for Gears 5. It’s also one of the best-looking games on Xbox Series X and feels like a full Gears game compressed into a bite-size experience that has me excited for the future of Gears of War.  This new $20 DLC campaign, which was released on December…

Cyberpunk 2077 Refund Options Expand, With Updates From Xbox, Best Buy, And CD Projekt Itself [Update]

Update (3:03 p.m. ET, 12/18/2020): Cyberpunk 2077 refund options continue to grow for disappointed players. In addition to both Sony and Microsoft loosening their refund policies, Best Buy and even CD Projekt itself have promised to make things right for customers. According to a Best Buy social media specialist, the retailer will refund physical copies…

Among Us is out on Game Pass for PC today, Microsoft announced in a blog post. The popular betrayal party game will come to the rest of Game Pass for Xbox consoles sometime next year.

EA Play won’t be coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC until some time next year The addition—which is already part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (for console)—was planned for this month.

Yakuza 6, originally a PS4 exclusive, is heading to PC and Xbox Game Pass in March 2021 internationally. So is the Yakuza Remastered Collection, which includes former PlayStation exclusives, Yakuza 3, 4, and 5. Sega says it currently has no plans to make similar announcements for Japan. Update – 1/7/20 4:27AM: A spokesperson for the…

Four Generations Of Xbox Consoles Can Play The Same Game Together

When we think of backwards compatibility we tend to only think of a game from an older system running on its replacement. But as this video shows, in the right circumstances, a console released in 2001 can play the same game at the same time as one released in 2020, as well as the two…

Microsoft, Sony, And Nintendo Team Up To Promote Safer Gaming

In a post shared across all three companies’ websites this morning, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have released a joint set of principles to foster a safe gaming environment across all of their platforms. Posted under the title “Our Shared Commitment to Safer Gaming,” the triumvirate present a three-pronged approach to ensuring their platforms are a…

Surgeon General Compares Developing Covid Vaccine To Playing Xbox

The first Covid-19 vaccines began being distributed in the US today, and amidst the rollout Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams took to Fox News to talk about the race to develop a cure for the pandemic. And to do that he started talking about Xbox. “I want to put it in Christmas-think for people out…

Some People Are Playing Cyberpunk 2077 A Day Early On Xbox By Switching Time Zones

Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t officially release until 12:01 a.m. on December 10, but Xbox owners are already playing the game by manipulating their console’s time and location data. As Video Game Chronicle’s Andy Robinson pointed out on Twitter overnight, players can simply change the location on an Xbox One or Series X/S to New Zealand, where…

‘Free’ Gears 5 Expansion Highlights Growing Divide For Game Pass Subscribers

Gears 5 is getting a new campaign expansion next week. It’ll be available at no extra cost for members of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a $15-monthly subscription. Everyone else will have to pay up. It’s just one more perk suggesting a growing gulf between the entry-level and premium tiers of Microsoft’s games-on-demand service. The new…

Quick Resume Is Working For More Xbox Series X Games

Microsoft is slowly starting to roll out more Quick Resume support on Xbox Series X|S again, after it took the supposedly signature next-gen feature offline for some games right before the console’s launch last month. This is according to Xbox director of program management Jason Ronald. “As launch games were coming in, we identified some…

Sea Of Thieves Is Getting A Battle Pass

Sea of Thieves will ditch its monthly update schedule and move to a Fortnite-style seasonal model starting next year, Rare creative director Mike Chapman announced in a new update to players. “After a year of updating the game [monthly], we’re moving to a new way,” Chapman said. “So from January, seasons are coming to Sea…

It’s Official: Control Is Coming To Xbox Game Pass

Well, the rumors were true. Control is coming to Xbox Game Pass. Starting December 3, you’ll be able to play the darkest third-person shooter in human history on Xbox consoles via Microsoft’s games-on-demand services. It’ll also join the list of playable Game Pass games available on Android. On Sunday, a post on the Xbox Game…

The Week In Games: Empire Of Fenyx

It’s often a letdown when a holiday ends, but at least this week has some games to be excited about. Ubisoft’s Zelda-like Immortals Fenyx Rising comes out, along with Romero Games’ Empire of Sin and Dontnod’s Twin Mirror December 1 Chronos: Before The Ashes | Xbox, PC, PlayStation Empire of Sin | Xbox, PlayStation, PC,…

Here’s December 2020’s Xbox Live Games With Gold

The Xbox Series S and X might be new, but Games with Gold marches on. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. December’s Games with Gold are: Xbox X/S and Xbox One The Raven Remastered (December 1-31) Bleed 2 (December 16-January 15) Xbox 360 (compatible with newer…

Dear Microsoft, Here’s Our Xbox Series X (And S) Wishlist

Microsoft didn’t break new ground with its two new consoles, the Xbox Series X and S. The individual boxes look new, sure, but both share a near-identical operating system with their predecessor, the Xbox One. In other words, these two new machines don’t bring much new to the table. Rather, it’s the same dish, except…

Maybe The PS4 Pro And Xbox One X Were A Bad Idea

I know they’ve sold a lot of units—big techy launch things always have and always will—but there was no avoiding the fact that this month’s next-gen console launches felt a little…muted. Sure, you could blame some (or even more than some!) of that on a global pandemic and associated economic downturn, a little on an…

Here Are Japanese Launch Sales Figures For PlayStation 5 And Xbox Series X/S

Curious to know how the PlayStation 5’s launch went in Japan? What about the Xbox Series X and S? Well, good news, because Famitsu is reporting the first Japanese sales numbers for both new consoles. According to Famitsu, between November 12 and November 15, the PlayStation 5 sold 118,085 consoles in Japan. (Note these numbers…

How To Zoom In On Small Text In Any Xbox Series X / S Game

As the saying goes, nothing in life is certain except death, taxes, and painfully tiny video game text. If you were lucky enough to beat the queues and snag a new Xbox Series X or S, know that you can zoom in on any game’s text at more or less any time. All you have…